KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) — Firat International Trade Co Ltd, the main distributor of palm oil in Xianjiang, China, expects to distribute 100,000 kilogrammes of Malaysian palm-based cooking oil per month in the province.

This translated into monthly sales of around RM10 million.

Director Elmurat Ali said the company intended to make Xianjiang as the palm-based oil distribution hub for China Central Region and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.

“Xianjiang itself has a Muslim majority population and Malaysia is well known for its halal food including cooking oil.

“We are always active in exploring halal food and we decide to import 100 per cent of Malaysia palm-based cooking oil,” he told a media briefing Friday.

Xianjiang has a population of more than 25 million, 65 per cent of whom are Muslims.

He said Xianjiang would indirectly facilitate the exports of palm-based cooking oil to countries in the CIS through the proposed hub.

Elmurat also said it would enable its neighbours such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan the opportunity to become distributors as well.

“We are thankful to Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Malaysian Palm Oil Council for their technical assistance and Malaysian Intellectual Networking Association (Mina) for establishing a business networking between Firat and MPOB,” he added.

Elmurat said the first shipment of the product had departed to Xianjiang on Thursday and was expected to reach the destination within 14 days.